He Believed His Ex More Than He Believed Me Chapter 06
Nolan’s finger hesitated over the power button. Just before the screen went dark, a call came from an unknown number.
“Mr. Mercer? This is Officer Grant with the Ashford Police Department.
Noelle was critically injured. You need to return immediately.”
The short statement emptied his mind. His hand jerked, and the phone struck the floor.
Vanessa bent to pick it up with a frown. “She didn’t cause a scene last night, so now she’s making herself unreachable.”
“Don’t let one final manipulation stop you.”
Nolan shoved her away, his face bloodless. He burst out of line, knocking over his suitcase and scattering his documents.
Vanessa followed him for several steps, her voice sharpening. “Wake up, Nolan.”
“She’s betting you won’t have the nerve to abandon her.”
He stopped and looked back. The coldness in his eyes made her retreat half a step.
The red light outside the operating room was painfully bright. An officer handed him the shattered phone recovered at the scene.
“The screen still works.”
Nolan’s hands shook as he opened the note and read every line.
Stomach medicine. Mango.
His knee. The sunflower.
The final sentence struck his chest like a blunt instrument. He braced himself against the wall, a broken sound catching in his throat.
“It’s impossible. She was doing so much better.”
“She cooked, she smiled, and she ironed my shirts.”
The officer’s expression remained hard. “The patient has numerous recent and older injuries.”
“Several nails were torn back, and she showed signs of malnutrition.”
Nolan raised bloodshot eyes. “She was sick.”
“She hurt herself before.”
The officer held out a toxicology report. “No antidepressant was present at a therapeutic level.”
“We were told someone replaced her prescription.”
Nolan’s hands went rigid.
Vanessa arrived with windblown hair. When she saw his devastation, she softened her voice.
“Don’t let guilt consume you. This was the ultimate act of control.”
“She knew you would give in.”
Nolan slowly turned toward her. Before she could continue, he slapped her.
She fell against a bench and covered her cheek in disbelief. Nolan pointed at the operating-room doors, his voice trembling despite its low pitch.
“She fell twenty-five stories. You call that control?”
Tears filled Vanessa’s eyes. “I did this for you.”
“Shut up.”
His chest heaved, and the veins rose across his hands. “You told me to replace the pills.”
“You told me to remove the barrier and lock her in that basement.”
Vanessa stood, still clinging to her professional tone. “Every treatment has risks.”
“You agreed to the plan.”
The word agreed made Nolan sway.
He remembered his signature and the silence behind the basement door.
At the time, he had thought I had accepted the treatment. Only now did he understand that I had forgotten how to ask for help.
The surgery lasted fourteen hours. When the surgeon removed her mask, Nolan could barely stand.
“She hit an awning above the second floor. We managed to save her life for now.”
Hope had barely entered his eyes when the surgeon continued.
“Her spleen ruptured, both legs sustained multiple complex fractures, and she suffered a severe traumatic brain injury. Her will to live appears very low.”
“We can’t promise she’ll regain consciousness.”
Nolan collapsed, his knees striking tile. When they wheeled me out, tubes covered my bloodless body.
He reached for my hand, but a nurse stopped him. “This is a sterile area.”
“Don’t touch her.”